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Imperial Iranian Ground Forces

The Imperial Iranian Ground Forces in 1979 consisted of around 285,000 troops organized into 3 corps. It had several armored and infantry divisions as well as independent brigades. The ground forces were largely mechanized and armored, equipped with tanks from the US and UK like the M60 and Chieftain.

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83 views5 pages

Imperial Iranian Ground Forces

The Imperial Iranian Ground Forces in 1979 consisted of around 285,000 troops organized into 3 corps. It had several armored and infantry divisions as well as independent brigades. The ground forces were largely mechanized and armored, equipped with tanks from the US and UK like the M60 and Chieftain.

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A Fernandez
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Imperial Iranian Ground Forces http://www.sarbazan.com/iigf.

htm

From Right to Left: Major General Riyahi, Major General Amini Afshar, Major General

During the late 1970s the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces, was undergoing a rapid
increase in strength. In 1979 it was a largely mechanized and armored force of about
285,000 troops, organized in 3 corps, with headquarters in Tehran area, in Shiraz in the

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south, and in Kermanshah


corps, to be established at the new Chah Bahar complex at the eastern end of the
Persian Gulf. Major ground formations included 3 armored divisions (One more in
organization in Sistan) each with six tank battalions and five mechanized infantry
battalions, 3 infantry divisions, 2 Imperial Guard Divisions and 4 independent brigades
(1 armored, 1 infantry, 1 airborne and 1 Special Forces) and the Army Aviation
Command. These combat units, backed up by the usual complement of support units,
were said to be 85 percent operational. During the mid-1970s fully 80 percent of Irans
ground forces were deployed along the Iraqi border, though official sources maintained
that a large portion of these could be sent anywhere in the country within twenty-four
hours by means of air force transports. Troop deployment was expected to shift south
during the late 1970s with the opening of the Chah Bahar facility.

Total (in 1979): 285,000

Reserves: 300,000

Main Unites:

16th Armored Division - Ghazvin


81th Armored Division - Kermanshah
92th Armored Division - Khuzestan
88th Armored Division - Sistan
1th Infantry Imperial Guard Division (After the revolution changed to 21th
Infantry Div.)
2th Imperial Guard
28th Infantry Division - Kurdistan
64th Infantry Division - Rezaieh
77th Infantry Division - Khorasan
84th Infantry
55th Airborne Brigade - Shiraz (Division during the war with Iraq)
23th Special forces
37th Armored Brigade - Shiraz
11th Artillery Unit
22th Artillery Unit
23th Artillery Unit
44th Artillery Unit
55th Artillery Unit
Hawk missiles Battalions (4 units)

Armour In Imperial Iranian Army

Imperial Iranian Armored units were supplied with medium and light tanks of

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American and British origin, and about 1200 Brithish-maded Chieftain tanks
were being delivered to augment the 780 in the inventory. Armored personnel
carriers were from the United States and the Soviet Union and antitank missiles
from the United States and France.

In 1971, Iran placed an order with Royal Ordnance (RO) of the UK for 707
modified Chieftain Mk 3 and Mk 5 MBTs, plus a quantity of armoured recovery
vehicles (ARVs) and armoured vehicle-launched bridges (AVLBs) based on the
Chieftain MBT chassis, all of which were delivered by early 1978. Most of these
were built by RO Leeds, subsequently taken over by Vickers Defence Systems,
which built all the ARVs. Iran also took delivery of 187 improved Chieftains
called the FV4030/1 (a development of the Chieftain Mk 5 used by the British
Army) for it's operational needs. In all, 187 of the FV4030/1, were supplied.
In 1974, Iran ordered 125 Shir Iran 1 (FV4030/2s) and 1,225 Shir Iran 2
(FV4030/3s) MBTs for delivery from 1980 - but the order was cancelled in 1979
after the fall of the Shah and before deliveries could begin from Royal Ordnance
Leeds.
If the Shir 2 MBTs had been delivered, the Iranian Army would have had the
best-protected MBT in the region because the hull and turret incorporated the
advanced Chobham armour system for a high level of battlefield protection over
the frontal arc. In 1979, Jordan bought 274 Shir 1 MBTs, designated the Khalid.
After the Iranian Revolution the "Shir Iran 2" project was taken over by the
British Army and the end result was Challenger later redesignated as Challenger
1 in service with the British Army since 1983.

Tanks 1971 19741976 1977 1979


Scorpion LT 250 250
M-24 LT 100
M-47, M-47M MBT 400 400 160
400 400
M-48, M-48A5 MBT 240
M-60A1 MBT 460 460 460 460 460
Shir1(Chieftain) MBT order60 500 760 780
APC - Armor Vehicels1971 19741976 1977 1979
M-8 Armoured Car 100 32
M-20 Armoured Car 140 48
Ferret Armoured Car / /
100 /
Fox Armoured Car order
M-113, M-113A1 APC 300 325 564 575 575
BTR-40 APC
BTR-50 APC 270
14251425 1425 1425
BTR-60 APC 300
BTR-152 APC
BMP-1 AIFV orderorder

* Some M-113 APC are with TOW Missiles

Major Equipment On Order:

Shir1 (Chieftain) Tanks - 1971 (800), 1974 (740), 1976 (1480), 1977
(1220)
Shir2 (Chieftain) Tanks -1979 (1297)
Scorpion Tanks - 1976 (250), 1977 (110),1979 (110)
M-113A1 APC - 1979 (108)
BMP-1 AIFV - 1979 (x)

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Shir2 (Challenger 1) MBT -


Great Britain

Continued development in the


Centurion/Chieftain line to
produce the Shir/Iran 2
originally planned for Iranian
forces. After the Iranian
revolution, taken over by the
British Army. It has much more
powerful engine than the
Chieftain and equipped with
excellent Chobham Armor.
Challenger 1 took part in
Operation Desert Storm (1991)
where the Iraqi forces failed to
take a single vehicle out of
combat while Challenger
destroyed roughly 300 Iraqi
tanks.

Standard equipment includes


thermal sights, gun
stabilization NBC system as
well as mounting points for
external fuel tanks at the rear
and Combat Dozer Blade at
the front.

Armament: 1 - 120mm
long L11A5 gun, 2 -
7.62mm MG, 2 x 5 barrel
smoke dischargers
Power Train: Perkins
Engines (Shrewsbury)
Condor V-12, 12 cyl
diesel, coupled to David
Brown Vehicle
Transmission TN37.
Speed: 34.8 mph
Range: 279 miles
Crew: 3
Weight: 68 tons

EX- Euipment:

Iranian Wolrd War II Tanks

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66 M-4 Sherman 100 M-24 LT 100 M-41 MBT


MBT (in 1950s) (1960-70s) (1960-70s)

Armor in Iranian Army today:


Chieftain (Shir1) MBT
M48/M48A5 MBT
M60A1 MBT
EE-9 Cascavel recce
M47/M47M tank
BMP-1 IFV
Zulfaqhar MBT
BMP-2 IFV
T-72 MBT
BTR-50 APC
Type 72-Z MBT
BTR-60 APC
T-62 MBT
M113A1 APC
T-54/T-55 MBT
M113 TOW TD
Type 59 MBT
Boragh APC
Type 69-2 MBT
Cobra APC
Safir-74 MBT
Scorpion light tank
Tosan light tank

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